For a certain period of time, we had one of Gigabyte’s I-RAMs at our laboratory. What caught our attention the first time we saw it was its big size and its eye catching box. Inside the box we found a CD with drivers, a SATA cable with an L terminal, somewhat shorter than standard, and a manual. The latter was quite disappointing. For the price of this product and all that it promises, the manual seemed quite simple and lacked depth in many subjects.
In the case of the I-RAM, with it’s 4GB maximum storage capacity, its only good for installing the operating system and some other programs. It is quite a sacrifice of storage space, but it surely promises gains in transfer velocity and in access times.
Technical Information
The I-RAM ismade up of 4 184-pin modules for DDR memories, supporting 266, 333 and 400 Mhz memories; each slot being able to hold 256, 512 or 1024 MB modules. It also carries a LI ON rechargeable battery, responsible for powering up the memories in order to avoid information loss. With all this in mind, the key element in this mix is the chip in charge of emulating the SATA interface, allowing the I-RAM to be connected to the SATA controller on the mother board.
Compatibility
According to manufacturer the I-RAM is compatible with the following mother borrad chipsets:
Preview
In the following images you’ll be able to see the I-RAM and a detail of its main features:
Frontal View
You can apréciate the memory slots, the battery ad the SATA connector.
Back view
LED battery charge indicators.
Test and procedures
In order to measure the I-RAM’s performance a synthetic benchmark was carried out; for the unit in question as well as for other HDs.
Test Machine
MSI K8N NEO4 PLATINUM
AMD ATHLON 64 X2 3800
1 Gb in RAM PC 3200
SEAGATE 120GB SATA
I-RAM v1.3 with 4 1-GB memory modules.
Software
Windows XP SP2
HD TACH
Results
The performance of the IRAM as a primary drive presents a constant oscillation that can be attributed to the read and write processes of the operating system.
When used as a secondary drive, the I-RAM’s performace is flat. Here we can highlight that the read-write velocity is constant in its 4GB of storage capacity.
With a read-write velocity topping 130 MB/s and access times of cero or practically imperceptible, it beats its “platter and head” competitor by far; even when comparing its performance to that of a RAID 0 with two SATA drives.
Comparisons
The previous image shows the behavior and performance of the great majority of conventional hard drives. Here you can clearly appreciate a lower performance than that of the I-RAM, higher access times and a velocity loss towards the end of the drive, totally opposite to the I-RAM’s performance stability. Another important issue is the noise that is generated by the mobile parts of a hard drive, in addition to the heat generation and a higher electrical consumption compared to that of the I-RAM.
Conclusions
Performancewise, the I-RAM is far better than a conventional hard drive due to its greater transfer velocity and its access times that approach to zero, compared to the milliseconds of a hard drive. However, with only 4GB, and even when placed on a RAID 0 with another I-RAM, it still does not top 10GB of storage capacity. With this in mind, its great performance is overshadowed by its small storage capacity and its high cost.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
• Great Performance.
• Noiseless
• Very short access times
• Its LEDs contribuye to giving the PC’s look a more technological edge, greatly appreciated when in possession of a tower with a clear side.
• Battery charge level LED indicators.
Cons:
• Large size
• Extremely costly
• Compatible to only a few chipsets.
• Small storage capacity.
• Information is lost if the battery dies.
What is coming next?
With only 4GB of storage capacity, we can only expect it to grow by using 2GB memory modules, attaining a total storage capacity of 8 GB; certainly more than enough to install the operating system and additional programs.
Another important upgrade would be the use of SATA II standards, allowing the device to reach even higher transfer velocities.
04/06: Review I-RAM
For a certain period of time, we had one of Gigabyte’s I-RAMs at our laboratory. What caught our attention the first time we saw it was its big size and its eye catching box. Inside the box we found a CD with drivers, a SATA cable with an L terminal, somewhat shorter than standard, and a manual. The latter was quite disappointing. For the price of this product and all that it promises, the manual seemed quite simple and lacked depth in many subjects.In the case of the I-RAM, with it’s 4GB maximum storage capacity, its only good for installing the operating system and some other programs. It is quite a sacrifice of storage space, but it surely promises gains in transfer velocity and in access times.
Technical Information
The I-RAM ismade up of 4 184-pin modules for DDR memories, supporting 266, 333 and 400 Mhz memories; each slot being able to hold 256, 512 or 1024 MB modules. It also carries a LI ON rechargeable battery, responsible for powering up the memories in order to avoid information loss. With all this in mind, the key element in this mix is the chip in charge of emulating the SATA interface, allowing the I-RAM to be connected to the SATA controller on the mother board.
Compatibility
According to manufacturer the I-RAM is compatible with the following mother borrad chipsets:
Intel : ICH6 / ICH6R / ICH7 / ICH7R
VIA : 8237R
SiS : 964 / 965L
NVIDIA : NF4 SLI / NF4 4X / NF4 SLI Intel Edition + MCP04
ULi : M1689
Preview
In the following images you’ll be able to see the I-RAM and a detail of its main features:
Frontal View
You can apréciate the memory slots, the battery ad the SATA connector.
Back view
LED battery charge indicators.
Test and procedures
In order to measure the I-RAM’s performance a synthetic benchmark was carried out; for the unit in question as well as for other HDs.
Test Machine
MSI K8N NEO4 PLATINUM
AMD ATHLON 64 X2 3800
1 Gb in RAM PC 3200
SEAGATE 120GB SATA
I-RAM v1.3 with 4 1-GB memory modules.
Software
Windows XP SP2
HD TACH
Results
The performance of the IRAM as a primary drive presents a constant oscillation that can be attributed to the read and write processes of the operating system.
When used as a secondary drive, the I-RAM’s performace is flat. Here we can highlight that the read-write velocity is constant in its 4GB of storage capacity.
With a read-write velocity topping 130 MB/s and access times of cero or practically imperceptible, it beats its “platter and head” competitor by far; even when comparing its performance to that of a RAID 0 with two SATA drives.
Comparisons
The previous image shows the behavior and performance of the great majority of conventional hard drives. Here you can clearly appreciate a lower performance than that of the I-RAM, higher access times and a velocity loss towards the end of the drive, totally opposite to the I-RAM’s performance stability. Another important issue is the noise that is generated by the mobile parts of a hard drive, in addition to the heat generation and a higher electrical consumption compared to that of the I-RAM.
Conclusions
Performancewise, the I-RAM is far better than a conventional hard drive due to its greater transfer velocity and its access times that approach to zero, compared to the milliseconds of a hard drive. However, with only 4GB, and even when placed on a RAID 0 with another I-RAM, it still does not top 10GB of storage capacity. With this in mind, its great performance is overshadowed by its small storage capacity and its high cost.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
• Great Performance.
• Noiseless
• Very short access times
• Its LEDs contribuye to giving the PC’s look a more technological edge, greatly appreciated when in possession of a tower with a clear side.
• Battery charge level LED indicators.
Cons:
• Large size
• Extremely costly
• Compatible to only a few chipsets.
• Small storage capacity.
• Information is lost if the battery dies.
What is coming next?
With only 4GB of storage capacity, we can only expect it to grow by using 2GB memory modules, attaining a total storage capacity of 8 GB; certainly more than enough to install the operating system and additional programs.
Another important upgrade would be the use of SATA II standards, allowing the device to reach even higher transfer velocities.